Community organisations in Cornwall can now apply for grants of up to £5,000 to fund projects aimed at understanding the different factors that affect people’s health and wellbeing.
It follows a successful pilot that has seen 11 organisations undertake projects ranging from an examination of health barriers to diverse women to a survey of experiences of young people arriving at a homeless refuge.
The new round of Community Small Grants funding is part of ongoing work by the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Cornwall.
Hosted by Cornwall Council, the research group is part of the wider National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
HDRC Cornwall is working to embed a culture of research in Cornwall, to inform evidence-based decision-making and make a positive impact on people’s wellbeing.
The group recognises that factors impacting people’s health and wellbeing – known as ‘health determinants’ - can vary from place to place.
Within Cornwall there is a five-and-a-half-year gap in life expectancy between those in the richest and poorest areas. HDRC Cornwall aims to address this.
For more information on the 11 projects already underway, check out the HDRC Cornwall web page.
Cllr Thalia Marrington, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Public Health at Cornwall Council, said:
“A lot of community groups in Cornwall are already doing great work supporting those impacted by health determinants. We now want to support more organisations to carry out their own research so they can better understand and support the communities they serve. This will also generate ideas for further research.
“I would encourage all voluntary and community groups to think about how they might be able to help with this ongoing research, and to apply for the funding.”
HDRC Cornwall already works with community groups through its partnership with Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum (VSF) and its Community Research Group (CRG), but it is seeking to broaden this collaboration.
Dr Richard Sharpe, Consultant in Public Health and Centre Director at HDRC Cornwall, said:
“Working on research projects with a range of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and communities across Cornwall provides a unique opportunity to address health inequalities and deliver tangible improvements for local people. This enables local research developed by local communities to shape and inform future policy and practice.
“In particular, these grants provide an opportunity to learn more from marginalised or underserved communities and discover what could be changed to improve the health of these people. This could include research tackling issues around environment, housing, education, employment, food and transport, for example, all of which we recognise as being ‘building blocks of health’.”
Groups can apply by visiting the HDRC Cornwall website from 16th March and downloading the application pack.
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